Chapter 241: Snatched (1)

Chapter 241: Snatched (1)

Kang Jin-Ho sighed under his breath.

How could he not, when Choi Yeon-Ha made good on her threat and had set up camp in the staff break room? She was clearly unwilling to leave, and it couldn’t be clearer than that. Even though no one spoke to her, she entertained herself plenty well enough.

She took selfies, played games on her phone, and... As if keeping herself occupied like this was an everyday thing for her, Choi Yeon-Ha displayed no sign of discomfort or awkwardness even though Kang Jin-Ho didn't pay any attention whatsoever to her.

Unable to watch this any longer, Ju Yeong-Gi stepped into the staff room to ask Choi Yeon-Ha. “Miss Choi? Are you okay alone? Were you always this... adept at keeping yourself occupied like this?”

“Yes,” Choi Yeon-Ha replied with a cool shrug of her shoulders.

“How? There has to be a ton of people dying just to hang out with you, right?”

“Actually, I don't have anyone.”

“...Don't mind me asking why?”

“Hmm, I wonder myself. For some reason, I don't have anyone in particular that I can refer to as a 'friend.’ When I was younger, I had filming commitments to fulfill, so there wasn't much time to hang out with other kids my age. And when I got older, people seem to find it hard to approach me.”

Ju Yeong-Gi grew visibly uncomfortable. “Uh, that... sounds a bit too personal to share...?”

Choi Yeon-Ha chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, no. Please don't misunderstand. I'm good at keeping myself occupied not because of that, but all thanks to my job. When I'm on the film set, it's fairly common to wait around six hours to shoot my next scene, you see? That's when I learned how to keep myself occupied.”

Ju Yeong-Gi nodded in acceptance at that explanation. Indeed, he recalled seeing something similar in a behind-the-scenes entertainment program some time ago. In it, celebs usually stayed inside vans or trailers parked outside the film locations during their downtime.

Although it didn't make much sense to him that a protagonist was often left alone unattended for six hours or more, Choi Yeon-Ha herself said that was the case, so who was he to argue?

Ju Yeong-Gi asked her another question, “Oh, so you play games on your phone when that happens?”

“No, I usually sleep.”

“...?”

“But, if I sleep for too long, my face will get a little swollen, and that will mess up the scene, you see? When that happens, I have to get the swelling down, and the trick is to...”

Ju Yeong-Gi's expression progressively crumpled as he listened to Choi Yeon-Ha sharing her know-how on methods to reduce the swelling of her face.

'This woman... She really is a weirdo, isn't she?'

As mentioned before, Ju Yeong-Gi basically had no interest in the world of celebrities. Even then, he had heard about Choi Yeon-Ha's name. That was how famous she was. But, as it turned out, such a big fish was actually an airhead. Moreover, it felt like this preconceived image Ju Yeong-Gi had of the entertainment world had shattered into a million pieces by this revelation.

'...Oh, well. Even Eun-Yeong is totally different from her TV personality and her real self, so what does it matter?'

.

Ju Yeong-Gi shook his head, then asked Choi Yeon-Ha again, “Okay, so... Why are you staying here doing basically nothing, Miss Choi?”

“Well, I have a business with Mister Jin-Ho.”

“...Oh, you mean that thing about him becoming an actor?”

“Yes, that one.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded unhesitantly. Her eyes remained uncluttered and unblinking.

Ju Yeong-Gi grandly groaned. “Excuse me, but Miss Choi? I'd like to offer you a piece of advice as someone who knows the human being named Kang Jin-Ho pretty well.”

“Okay?”

“Being an entertainer is—well, how should I put this—that's a job you can take on only if you have the knack for it, am I right?”

“Well, normally, that's what people believe.”

Ju Yeong-Gi muttered ruefully, “But the 'Kang Jin-Ho' I know doesn't have any knack for it, you see? Actually, you can say the problem is with how extremely boring and unfunny he is. You know what I mean?”

Choi Yeon-Ha wordlessly nodded.

“Don't you agree that you're trying to achieve the impossible by dragging someone like that into the world of acting, Miss Choi?” NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

Ju Yeong-Gi's concerned-sounding question was replied to by the brightly-smiling Choi Yeon-Ha. “Who do you think knows this profession the best? Me or you, Mister Ju?”

“Well, uh...” Ju Yeong-Gi faltered a little, unable to answer.

The smile on Choi Yeon-Ha's face became unreadable. “Having a knack for it will help, of course. It'll be a huge boost in your survival in this profession, after all. However, Mister Jin-Ho doesn't really need that kind of a knack, you see?”

“I believe we're not supposed to express pride in our chosen profession that way, but by doing our utmost best in what we do,” said Choi Yeon-Ha. “And from where I stand, the best thing I could do for my work is to rope in Mister Jin-Ho to act opposite me in my next project.”

“Even if Jin-Ho clearly states he's not interested in it at all?”

“He'll come around eventually. Since I'm going to bite and cling onto him like crazy until he says yes.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded in determination.

Ju Yeong-Gi powerlessly turned his head. “You heard her, right?”

“...Mm.” Kang Jin-Ho walking past the staff room groaned. His head faltered just as powerlessly as the sound of his groan.

“Seeing how someone as pretty as her is camping out here just for you...” Ju Yeong-Gi sighed loudly. “...How should I put this? I can't tell if you're one lucky son of a gun or a bloody luckless doofus. Whatever, you take care of this mess, okay?”

“Sure thing.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

Ju Yeong-Gi patted Kang Jin-Ho's shoulder as a gesture of pity before heading over to the dining area.

“Excuse me, but...” Kang Jin-Ho was about to say something, but his phone suddenly started ringing. He took it out and frowned slightly at the caller's name visible on the screen.

'What's going on?'

The name on the screen was Kang Eun-Yeong. He answered the call only to be surprised by an urgent, loud cry.

- Oppaaaaaa!

Kang Jin-Ho's expression stiffened in an instant. The urgency in her voice indicated that she wasn't playing around. She genuinely sounded scared. In addition, Kang Eun-Yeong's ear-piercing scream was punctuated by loud thuds and bangs, which stabbed sharply into Kang Jin-Ho's ears.

“What's the matter, Eun-Yeong!”

- Oppa! Help! I'm...! Kyaaaaaah!

Her ear-piercing scream rang out once more, and it was accompanied by the distinct blare of a car horn before being followed by another loud thud. The nonstop swearing coming from the driver had already mixed into the dizzying chaos of noise, too.

Kang Jin-Ho silently listened to the chaos before calmly speaking to his sister. “Eun-Yeong, where are—”

Drop!

However, the call suddenly ended before he could finish his question. Kang Jin-Ho coldly glared at the phone for a second before sharply turning his head in Choi Yeon-Ha's direction. “Where is the filming location?”

“...I-I'm sorry?”

“I'm asking you, where is the filming location Eun-Yeong went to today?”

“A-ah, that. It’s, uhm, it's in Sokcho.” Choi Yeon-Ha involuntarily stuttered after being subjected to Kang Jin-Ho’s glare.

The 'Kang Jin-Ho' she had seen and interacted with until now was someone who... who might harbor an icy dagger in his heart but would act calm and gentle on the surface. That seemed to be the case when he previously interacted with Kang Eun-Yeong and Choi Yeon-Ha. He was a typical case of an iron fist in a velvet glove, a big softie who preferred not to whine and badmouth other people if he could help it. But now?

This Kang Jin-Ho was like a completely different person. All he did was frown a little and glare at Choi Yeon-Ha, but those actions still possessed a certain something capable of making one's heart freeze and tumble to the pit of their stomach.

In fact, it could make one shudder involuntarily with their toes curled up from genuine fright!

Kang Jin-Ho took off his apron, tossed it on the table, and hurriedly turned around. Ju Yeong-Gi and Park Yu-Min were already standing next to him.

Ju Yeong-Gi growled angrily. “You want me to go with you?”

“No. I'll handle this on my own. Take care of the things this side.”

“Don't worry about that,” said Ju Yeong-Gi with a firm nod.

Park Yu-Min urgently asked, “Will Eun-Yeong be okay?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't reply and quickly headed to the exit.

“Jin-Ho, I'm gonna contact Chief Jo just in case. Answer your phone when he calls you!” Park Yu-Min shouted from behind Kang Jin-Ho.

“Got it!” Kang Jin-Ho replied while rushing outside the pizzeria's doorway.

Clink!

The doorbell's chime rang out. Ju Yeong-Gi watched the back of his friend disappear from view while muttering in a grave tone, “Which motherf*ckers dare to...?!”

Choi Yeon-Ha still couldn’t figure out what was going on, so she asked a question with her voice still trembling from shock. “D-did something happen to Miss Eun-Yeong? What is happening, you two?”

“What do you mean what, Miss Choi?” Ju Yeong-Gi growled lowly. “Those punks are about to get f*cked, that's what.”

Certain people in this world were off-limits and should never be provoked.